Raiders training camp gets chippy Monday

Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio likes to coach a disciplined football team. On Monday, some Oakland players lost their cool and threw discipline to the wayside, resulting in a couple of skirmishes during practice.

The first scuffle involved linebacker Bruce Irvin and running back Taiwan Jones.

Irvin stood Jones up on an outside run play, and aggressively threw him back after the whistle. Jones didn’t take kindly to Irvin’s aggressiveness, and shoved Irvin forcefully in the chest. The two were separated after a bit more pushing without incident.

The biggest dust-up of practice came later on during a scrimmage between wide receivers and cornerbacks.

Undrafted free agents Johnny Holton and Kenneth Durden were involved in an altercation, and the two threw each other to the ground. The players rolled around in the grass for a few moments before coaches and players ran over to break the two apart.

Holton and Durden are both fighting for spots on the final 53 man roster. Holton is a wide receiver out of Cincinnati. Last year for the Bear Cats he caught 17 passes for 461 yards, and five touchdowns. Durden is a raw cornerback prospect out of Youngstown State.

Del Rio had this to say about the skirmishes:

“We’re looking to practice like we play, so we’re looking to have self-control. I think for the most part we have. Guys are doing a pretty good job of taking care of business. I think for the most part it’s been minimal.”

Del Rio stressed the importance of teaching new players the Raiders way of playing tough, yet intelligent football. It seems there is still a learning curve for players as they adjust to playing smart and disciplined.

Camp Notes

Washington flashing potential – Rookie running back DeAndre Washington continued to impress during training camp Monday.

He showed a solid combination of speed and vision, hitting holes with efficiency. He had a nice run up the middle that resulted in him getting to the second level with ease, and he also ran a great cut-in route out of the backfield. Fellow rookie Corey James was covering Washington, and Washington faked a break towards the hashes, and instead cut inside of James’.

James fell right on his backside and Washington caught an easy pass with nothing but open grass in front of him.

Carrie and Amerson producing lock-down coverage – David Amerson has done nothing but impress since the start of training camp, and Monday was no exception.

He made another tremendous defensive play during scrimmages, when he extended his body fully to nearly intercept a 15-yard out route thrown to Michael Crabtree.

TJ Carrie was also solid in coverage on the day. He made a great read on a ball during 7 on 7 drills, by reading the quarterbacks eyes and leaving his man to cut in front of a crossing route.

Tight end Clive Walford made a few nice catches on the day, highlighted by a touchdown catch during scrimmages. Quarterback Derek Carr hit Walford on an out-route, and the big tight end used his frame to keep defender Ben Heeney from deflecting the ball.